Defensive-minded Charge having no problems putting points on the board

The Canton Charge better be careful. People might start to think they're a fun-and-gun basketball team. The 2-0 Charge are averaging 109.5 points and shooting 47.5 percent from the floor as they get ready for two games against the Springfield Armor this weekend at Canton Memorial Civic Center.

The Canton Charge better be careful. People might start to think they're a fun-and-gun basketball team.

The 2-0 Charge are averaging 109.5 points and shooting 47.5 percent from the floor as they get ready for two games against the Springfield Armor this weekend at Canton Memorial Civic Center.

This from a team that thumps the defense bible. Head coach Steve Hetzel spends up to 75 percent of practice on defensive principles. Five-on-five games are not scored by points. They're scored by the number of defensive stops each side gets.

Hetzel's offensive philosophy?

"The only thing we really tell them is to space the floor the correct way and move the basketball," he said.

So far, so good.

Helping the Charge is a roster full of experienced guys known for playing the game the right way.

"Our basketball IQ is high, so it makes it easier," Hetzel said after Tuesday's practice at Edgewood Community Center. "We're not the San Antonio Spurs, but the Spurs are a ball-movement team that the ball finds the open man. That's what I stress. You don't have to seek out a shot in our offense. The ball will find you. You have to trust that when you give the ball up, the ball's going to come back and find you."

Hetzel loved what he saw in that regard during Friday's season-opening 102-91 win at Erie. The next night, a 117-106 win against Delaware in the home opener, the Charge took some quick shots before settling in and pulling away from the 87ers.

The Charge missed their first eight 3-point tries Saturday, then hit 8 of their final 15.

"We had a little lapse against Delaware," Charge guard Antoine Agudio said. "At halftime, (Hetzel) asked, 'What happened to the first game?' We got back to sharing the ball a little more and it opened things up.

"... The other team can't key on one player. Anybody can make a play and anybody can score."

"This day and age of basketball, from a young age, these guys are doing individual drills to work on their games offensively," Hetzel said. "Not much time is spent on defensive technique or team defensive concepts. The importance of really understanding how to defend is so important to us. If you give these guys the space and room to work, they're skilled enough to put the ball in the basket."

A factor that can't be overlooked in Canton's high-scoring start is the fast pace of D-League games, which tend to have a ton of possessions for each team.

Page 2 of 2 - Saturday night, Delaware pressed for a large portion of the game. This created some chaotic sequences of turnovers, quick shots and transition opportunities.

"We stress so much the importance of transition defense because there are so many athletes in this league," Hetzel said. "These guys are at this level for a reason. They're just under the NBA level. ... In most instances, training camp is short. So the cohesion is less and so you see more sporadic offenses.

"For us, it's that much more important for us to buy in to becoming a team, rather than a bunch of individuals trying to make it to the next level."